First Chinese Company Joins WWF’s Climate Savers Programme

BAODING, China – WWF today announced that Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (Yingli), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of solar panels, has become the first Chinese company, and the first photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer, to join WWF’s Climate Savers programme.

Yingli is also the first Chinese company to set a company-wide renewable electricity consumption target. By the end of 2015, at least 4% of the electricity that Yingli consumes will come from renewable sources, specifically solar.

“Only industry leaders that agree to challenge themselves and set ambitious goals in cutting CO2 emissions, and support growth of clean, renewable energy are accepted as members. China has global manufacturing leaders, is beginning to have global innovation leaders, and now is beginning to have global leaders in the fight against climate change as well,” he added.

“We’re very pleased to become the first Chinese company and the first solar manufacturer to join the Climate Savers family,” said Liansheng Miao, Chairman and CEO of Yingli.

“At Yingli, we work on the mission of providing affordable, green energy to the world every day. We have also been dedicatedly carrying out our corporate social and environmental responsibilities through constantly reducing our energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our production and operations. We look forward to working more broadly with WWF and joining hands with other Climate Savers to lead the world’s transition to a low carbon economy.”

Yingli’s renewable electricity consumption target is possible because it has been a practitioner of solar energy application. Currently, the company operates more than 20 Megawatts (MW) of solar systems in its manufacturing campuses to power the production of PV modules. It plans to continue to increase its consumption of renewable electricity by installing more solar systems in the future.

“Yingli demonstrates that companies operating in China are willing to take action to support the growth of renewable energy,” said Donald Pols, Director of WWF’s China for a Global Shift Initiative and a member of Yingli’s Climate Savers application review committee. “Companies can follow Yingli’s example and develop their own clean and renewable electricity generation systems, whether in terms of solar panels installed on company real estate or utility-scale operations in the case of Yingli.”

In addition to its renewable electricity consumption target, Yingli has also agreed to a number of aggressive CO2 emission reduction targets.

By the end of 2015, Yingli commits to reduce GHG emissions intensity per MW of PV module production by 13% compared with 2010 levels. Further, also by the end of 2015, Yingli expects to reduce GHG emissions from purchased goods and services per MW of PV module production by 7% compared with 2010 levels. Yingli also targets to reduce GHG emissions intensity from upstream transportation by 10%, compared to 2010 levels, by the end of 2015.

Finally, Yingli also plans to launch a Global Green Solar PV Manufacturing Standard with the support of WWF by the end of 2015. This standard aims at promoting energy consumption reduction in the PV industry, increasing utilization percentage of renewable energy and reducing GHG emissions.

WWF’s Climate Savers programme began in 1999, and now counts 30 member companies. To become a member, a company works with WWF and an independent technical expert to set and agree to new CO2 emission reduction targets that are more aggressive than existing targets.

The company then formulates a plan to achieve these targets, and WWF and the independent technical expert will monitor to ensure the plan is followed and the targets are achieved.

About WWF Climate Savers
Climate Savers is a business initiative organized by WWF to mobilize companies to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Cutting-edge partnerships with these companies provide solutions to climate change, as targets agreed with WWF must be demonstrably more ambitious than previously planned or communicated by the company, placing the companies at the forefront of emissions reductions in their sectors. A Climate Savers agreement involves negotiations between WWF, the company concerned, and independent technical experts who later monitor and verify compliance with the agreement.

As part of its Climate Savers Program, WWF has agreements with major corporations from around the world, such as: Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Nike, Hewlett Packard, The Collins Companies, Xanterra Parks and Resorts, Sagawa, Sony, Tetra Pak, Lafarge, Catalyst, Novo Nordisk, and Nokia Siemens Networks. All of these companies have pledged to reduce their global warming emissions considerably. www.panda.org/climatesavers

About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. www.panda.org

About Yingli Green Energy
Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE), which markets its products under the brand "Yingli Solar," is a leading solar energy company and one of the world's largest vertically integrated photovoltaic manufacturers. Yingli Green Energy's manufacturing covers the entire photovoltaic value chain, from the production of polysilicon through ingot casting and wafering, to solar cell production and module assembly.
In August 2012, Yingli Green Energy reached a balanced vertically integrated production capacity of 2,450 MW per year at its production facilities located in Baoding, Haikou, Tianjin and Hengshui, respectively. Yingli Green Energy distributes its photovoltaic modules to a wide range of markets, including Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, South Korea, China, Japan and the United States. Headquartered in Baoding, China, Yingli Green Energy has more than 20 subsidiaries and branch offices worldwide. Yingli Green Energy is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: YGE). For more information, please visit www.yinglisolar.com.